ITV turns pioneer for ‘dog advert’

ITV will make history tonight (February 13th) by becoming the first UK network to broadcast an advert created for canine viewers.

People in broadcast jobs will likely have targeted all sorts of demographics in the past, but the Bakers dog food commercial will be a first, thanks to the way it aims to attract the attention of dogs via high-pitched sounds, as well as barks and whistles.

Mail Online reporter Louise Eccles noted that much of the noise directed at the pets will be inaudible to humans, but dogs may respond to it as their hearing is twice as sharp.

The advert, a send-up of classic film ‘The Italian Job’, is due to air in an advertising break during Emmerdale at about 19:15. The main content is not new – it has been used since last year – but the high-pitched sounds are a fresh addition.

Nick Collins, science correspondent for The Telegraph, remarked: “Bakers, the dog food manufacturer which commissioned the advert, hope the sounds will provoke a reaction from dogs in living rooms across the country, fooling their owners into thinking they are interested in the products on the screen.”

Kennel Club representative Carolyn Menteith told the writer that the advert is particularly clever for the way that it appeals to dogs’ sense of hearing, since such animals tend not to be overly interested in visual stimuli.